


A gift worth a thousand words

by AngelicAnimal



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:35:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21782305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelicAnimal/pseuds/AngelicAnimal
Summary: I wanted to write a story about Josie and Penelope (posie),  Hope and Landon (handon) & Lizzie, Hope and Josie friendships.Lizzie decides to reach out to someone to help her sister in a unique way.Plus Hope and Landon are crazy about each otherThis takes place after season 2 episode 8.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson & Lizzie Saltzman, Landon Kirby/Hope Mikaelson, Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 43
Kudos: 149





	1. A New Start

“Landon, look, I am going to need you to make a decision” Lizzie looked into the rearview mirror of the car she was driving, and caught Landon’s eyes as she said this.   
“Why is it that everyone but you can see what your heart desires?”   
Landon looked away for a moment and sighed.   
“I know what I want. I’ve known it since the moment I remembered her. I just, I don’t want to hurt Josie”  
Lizzie rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, hobbit. You leaving like that? That hurt Josie. And it hurt Hope!”  
“I’ll be there for my sister. But this can’t go on any longer, ok?” she pleaded.   
Landon nodded.   
Once they were back at the school, Lizzie waited in the hallway outside of her room. She saw Landon open the door and walk out. He met her eyes as he was walking by. She gave him a small nod before walking into her room.   
Her twin was on her bed, tears streaming down her cheeks, silently sobbing.   
Lizzie ran to Josie and scooped her up in her arms.   
“Jo,” Lizzie started. “I’m so sorry” Lizzie had no idea what else to say. She knew this would happen, but it still broke her heart seeing her sister in so much pain.   
The last time she saw Josie so upset, was when Penelope left. But Josie wasn’t speaking to her at that time, so she wasn’t able to console her.   
I have to make up for being a crappy sister Lizzie thought to herself.   
“Why does this hurt so much?” Josie whispered.   
“I knew his choice. I’ve known it all along. I knew it when SimuLandon was running around confessing his love.” Josie took a deep breath and tried to even her voice out.   
“Why doesn’t anyone stay for me?” she broke down in her sister’s arms.   
Lizzie knew in that moment that it wasn’t Landon that Josie was truly upset about.   
She was still reeling over the loss of Penelope. In that moment, it wasn’t why didn’t Landon choose me, it was why didn’t Penelope stay for me.   
Lizzie took Josie’s head in her hands and looked into her sister’s teary eyes.   
“Jo, you are amazing. And anyone who can’t see that is stupid. You are the best person I know”  
“I will always choose you. Always.” Lizzie hugged her sister tight.   
“Move over,” she motioned to her sister. “We need twin snuggles”  
Lizzie climbed in next to her sister and wrapped her arms around her. 

The next morning, Josie was sleeping so soundly that Lizzie didn’t want to wake her up. So she quietly snuck out of the room and shut the door, almost running into Hope.   
“Now is not the time Hope” Lizzie said harshly and then softened, “You need to let her come to you”  
Hope sighed. She had just wanted to come see if Josie was ok.   
“I’m...” Hope started but Lizzie stopped her.   
“I know Hope. But it’s still hard. Just, give her time. Ok?”  
Hope nodded and leaned in for a hug. Lizzie laughed.   
“What’s so funny?” Hope asked, with a puzzled expression on her face.   
“It’s just, a year ago, there is no way you would be leaning in for hug.. And no way would I want to reciprocate it!” Lizzie smiled.   
“Yeah, I guess you’re right” Hope laughed. She opened her arms up again, and Lizzie hugged her.   
When they both heard the door open behind them, they turned and saw Josie standing there, with red eyes and puffy cheeks.   
“Josie” Hope said  
“Don’t. Not right now Hope.” Josie said. She looked at her with a pained expression. She wasn’t truly mad at Hope, she loved Hope, but it still hurt.   
“Ok” Hope said quietly. She looked at Lizzie and then back at Josie.   
“I meant what I said in your room the other night Jo.” Hope gave her a small smile and then turned away.   
Josie and Lizzie watched her walk down the hall and go down the stairs.   
“You up for breakfast?” Lizzie asked.  
Josie nodded. She just wanted to move on so she put on a brave face and took her sister’s hand.   
Together they walked downstairs ready to face the day together.


	2. A witchy letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie comes up with an idea to help Josie

After asking everyone to give her some privacy, Josie sat cross legged on her bed, emotionally drained.  
She pulled Penelope's journal into her lap.  
She stared at the cover, slowly running her fingers along Penelope's name.  
Most people didn't have the spelled pens anymore. But Josie still couldn't help but look through it every now and then.  
There wasn't really anyone she was looking for, well, other than one.  
But Josie held no expectations that she would ever hear from her again.

Still, she held that book in her arms and closed her eyes. 

When Lizzie found Josie, she was asleep clutching Penelope's journal. Lizzie brushed Josie's hair to the side, and gently took the book out of her sister's grasp.  
She covered her with a blanket and tucked the book into a drawer next to the bed. 

Lizzie sat on her bed, and watched her sister relax. It was the first time she saw a slight smile on Josie's face since the Krampus possessed the school.  
Almost out of nowhere, Lizzie had an idea. But she was going to need help.

Excited, she quickly but quietly left her sleeping sister in their room and went off in search of Hope.  
She really didn't need to search hard, as Lizzie knew she would find Hope in Landon's room. She knocked on the door softly, praying that she didn't see anything that would give her nightmares. 

When Hope opened the door, her hair was slightly a mess, but still decent. 

"Oh thank god" Lizzie exclaimed. "I was worried I was going to walk in on you visiting muppettown" Lizzie grimaced. 

Hope laughed and shook her head. "Seriously Lizzie?" 

"Hey Lizzie" Landon called out. He was sitting on his bed, guitar in his hands and a lopsided smile on his goofy face. 

"I need your help, Hope." Lizzie started. "It's for Josie" Landon walked over to the door at the mention of Josie's name. 

"Is she ok?" he asked with concern. 

"She will be, once Hope helps me" Lizzie replied. Hope nodded, turned and kissed Landon goodbye for far longer than Lizzie was comfortable with. 

"Let's go" Hope said. "My room?" 

Lizzie nodded, "we will need all the privacy we can get. I don't want Josie finding out just yet" Lizzie said to Hope. 

When they got to Hope's room, Lizzie closed the door behind them. Hope's room almost looks like it did before, but when maintenance moved all her stuff so quickly before she jumped into the pit, they had lost a few things so it still didn't feel quite like home to Hope. 

"So..." Hope started, "what do you need my help with?"

"A spell" Lizzie replied. "I want to send a letter to someone.. Like a witchy direct message? The postal service is way too slow, plus I don't have an actual physical address." Lizzie rambled. 

As she was explaining, Hope's face light up with understanding. "You want to send a letter to.." she said before Lizzie interrupted her. 

"Yes," Lizzie nodded.  
"And you think this will help?" Hope asked.  
"I'm hoping it will" Lizzie replied. She held her breath with anticipation.  
"Ok" Hope said. "Let's do it"


	3. Chapter 3

A few days after the spell, Hope had been hanging out in the twins' room with Lizzie. When Josie walked in, Hope had gotten up to leave, but Josie stopped her. 

"You don't have to run every time I'm near, Hope" Josie said. 

"I'm just trying to give you space" Hope said softly. 

"I know," Josie replied. "But I'm tired of space. I miss my friend." Josie looked at Hope with tears in her eyes. 

Hope walked over and joined Josie on her bed. 

"I'm not mad at you Hope. He loves you. He always has. I get that." Josie couldn't look Hope in the eyes so she looked down at her hands. 

"I just needed to see that for myself" she said quietly. 

"I'm sorry Jo" said Hope who then leaned in to give Josie a hug. They held on to each other, both in need of reassurance of the other. 

"I love this!" Lizzie exclaimed. "We're all good now, right?"

Josie nodded and smiled at her sister. Hope, reached over and grabbed Josie's hand, and then stretched her arm out to grab Lizzie's. They all sat there in silence for a few minutes before bursting out in laughter. 

Ever since that moment, Josie had been doing better. Landon and Hope still tried to keep any displays of affection to a minimum when around Josie, but Lizzie knew they had been sneaking off to each other's rooms as often as they could. The last time they snuck off, everyone had been hanging out in the common room.

"Ugh" Lizzie exclaimed and then shuddered at the thought. 

"Ok?" Josie said, noticing her sister's outburst. 

"Oh, nothing, Just a gross thought I had" she laughed. She was glad that Josie was doing better, but knew that at night, when Josie thought Lizzie was sleeping, she still cried.   
But Lizzie knew it wasn't about Landon anymore, if it ever really was. 

Josie fell asleep more and more with that journal in her arms and it broke Lizzie's heart every time she woke up. 

Lizzie was starting to get anxious about the spell her and Hope had done. She was terrified it didn't work, and was worried that there was nothing she could do to help her sister.

"Hey Jo?" a voice called out as they were sitting there. 

It was MG. He was walking up to them, with a small package in his hands. 

"Hey, uh, Dr. Saltzman wanted me to give this to you. He said it arrived this morning" MG handed Josie a small black box, wrapped in red ribbon. Josie immediately recognized the writing and she gasped. 

"What is it?" Lizzie asked. 

"It's... it's.. " Josie stammered. 

"It's from " but Josie couldn't finish the sentence. 

Lizzie took the box from her sister's hands and inspected it. 

"It's from Penelope" she whispered to herself. "It worked!"   
Lizzie smiled to herself.   
I've got to tell Hope! she thought.

Lizzie handed the box back to Josie and excused herself. She went to Hope's room first, and knocked on the door. 

"Hope?" she called out. "This is important. You can visit 'its a small world' later!" 

Landon opened the door and gave her a look of disdain "Really? It's a small world? C'mon Lizzie. I thought we were friends"   
Lizzie laughed.   
"We are friends. Doesn't mean I can't have some fun with it" Lizzie smacked him on the chest and walked in the room. 

Hope was sitting on her bed, clearly amused with their exchange.

"Give us a moment Hobbit?" Lizzie asked Landon. He looked at Hope and she shrugged. 

"You're lucky I love you" he said with a smirk on his face but he left shutting the door behind him. 

"Before you say anything"Lizzie started as Hope opened her mouth to speak "Your shirt is on inside out." Lizzie flicked the tag of Hope's shirt with her finger. 

Hope blushed. "Why are you here?"she asked Lizzie while fixing her shirt. 

"It worked!! The spell!"Lizzie said excitedly. 

"Wait, what?"Hope asked. "How do you know?"

Lizzie explained the package that Josie just received and the small symbol that was drawn on it. She knew that symbol well because she had been staring at it for weeks in her room. 

"And you're sure it's from her?" Hope asked.

Lizzie nodded. "I'm positive"


	4. Chapter 4

After Lizzie had taken off so quickly, Josie ran to her room with the package clutched against her chest. Her heart was pounding and her head was spinning. 

Why? she thought to herself. After all this time, why did she send something now?

Josie shut the door behind herself and leaned against it. She tried to slow down her breathing. 

Focus Josie focus! She pushed her hand against her chest and willed her heart to slow down. She had done this for Lizzie numerous times before but was having a hard time getting herself to calm down. 

"Just breathe" she said out loud. 

Once she felt like her legs wouldn't buckle underneath her, she made her way to her bed. She took out the journal that Lizzie kept putting in the bedside drawer for her every morning and placed it down on the bed.

She gently laid the package down next to it and stared at the identical symbol on both items. She knew it was the same one but somehow her mind just needed to compare in order to comprehend.

She traced her finger along the ribbon that tied the package together. She couldn't help but think about how Pen's hands touched this ribbon and it felt good to have some sort of connection to her again.

As much as she wanted to open the package, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She missed Penelope with her whole heart, but she was scared what opening this meant. Josie wasn't sure she could handle what was inside just yet, or the emotions that it could unleash.

Josie didn't know how long she had been sitting there, staring at the items on her bed, when she heard her door open. 

"Jo?" Lizzie quietly called out. "Is it ok if Hope and I come in?" 

Josie looked up and saw her sister and friend standing at the door, both of them with mixed looks of concern and something else that Josie just couldn't put her finger on at the moment. 

"Yeah" Josie tried to say but it came out as more of a squeak then anything.

Both girls scrambled over to Josie's bed and squeezed onto it, with the journal and package in the middle of all of them.

"You haven't opened it yet?" Lizzie asked. Josie shook her head. 

"I couldn't. I mean, I can't. I just.. " Josie couldn't find the words to finish the sentence, but Lizzie nodded in understanding.

Hope reached out to touch the package "May I?" she asked Josie. Josie nodded.

Hope picked it up gently and examined it. "What's this symbol mean?" she asked. 

"Um, it's a raven. Penelope's version of one anyways." Josie turned her face away from the both of them before she continued. 

"Penelope always said that it represented us.. uh, her and me. She said that it was a way for us to always be able to reach other. No matter where we were at the time." Josie choked back her tears.

"She used to sign it on every note she sent me. Her signature I guess. It was on the last note she gave me, you know, before she left" Josie's voice trembled at that last part. 

Lizzie reached out to put her hands on her sister's and squeezed them tight. Hope squeezed in closer to Josie and laid her head on her shoulder. 

"The raven is on the journal too" Lizzie said. "That's how I knew who the package was from." Lizzie looked at Hope and nodded. 

"It's beautiful" Hope said examining it. "Are these your initials in the wings?" Hope pointed to a tiny detail in each wing of the raven. On one wing was a P and the other a J. 

Josie tilted her head to the side and let out a deep breath. "Penelope always said that we were two wings of the same bird. One couldn't function without the other." Tears started to stream down Josie's cheeks. 

Hope and Lizzie looked at each other with concern. Lizzie wondered if they had done the right thing. Hope gave a small shrug of her shoulders as if she knew what Lizzie was thinking. 

"Can I have some time alone?" Josie asked. Lizzie nodded and hugged her sister. 

"We'll be here if you need us" she said. 

Hope gently rubbed Josie's shoulder before getting up to leave. 

Once both girls were gone, Josie leaned back in her bed and closed her eyes. She pictured the first time she had seen Penelope. 

Penelope was popular, and vocal and in charge. Her and Lizzie immediately butted heads. But Josie was secretly fascinated.  
Lizzie used to say they were the queens of the school, because of their parents being the founders, but Pen didn't agree. She made it a point to take a jab at Lizzie every chance she got. 

Lizzie hated her. Josie, then by default, had to hate her too. But Penelope wasn't the same to Josie as she was to Lizzie. She was nice to her. 

She would brush Josie's hair out of her face and would gently brush her fingers along Josie's shoulders whenever she walked by. Josie would catch Penelope watching her sometimes. 

Lizzie would always say it was creepy, but Josie secretly liked it. If Lizzie didn't like her, then Josie actually stood a chance.

When Josie was on her way to class one day, she felt a pull towards an empty classroom. Without knowing what she would find, she walked inside. She saw Penelope leaning against a desk, with a sly smile on her face. 

'It worked." Penelope said. 

Josie looked at her in confusion. "What did?" she asked. 

"I got you here alone, without your twin." Penelope walked towards Josie, her eyes locked on Josie's face. 

Before Josie could reply, or even think for a moment, she felt Penelope's lips against hers. It was soft, yet passionate. Penelope wrapped her right arm around Josie's waist, while her left hand lightly trailed up Josie's back. 

Josie could feel herself melt in Penelope's arms. There was no turning back after that moment. She was hooked. 

Back in her room, Josie smiled at the memory. 

"I miss you so much P" Josie whispered into the empty room. "Why did you have to leave?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Landon discuss prior events while Josie hears a strange noise

"Do you think we did the right thing Lizzie?" Hope asked as they were walking down the hallway after leaving Josie alone in her room. 

"I mean, I think so" Lizzie replied but it came out more of a question than reassurance to Hope.

"I'm sure once she opens the package she'll feel better." Lizzie turned to look at Hope who was chewing on her lip, the worry on her face quite evident.

"This is my fault. Josie wouldn't be so sad if I hadn't caused this mess" Hope couldn't look up at Lizzie. Her guilt crashing upon her like a wave.

"Hey" Lizzie said and grabbed Hope by the shoulders. "Don't do that. Stop beating yourself up over this. You're back. That's all that matters"

Hope looked into Lizzie's eyes, the tears she had been fighting started to slowly make their way down her cheeks. 

Lizzie hugged her tight. "We'll get through this. I promise"

Hope nodded slightly, and wiped the tears from her face. She took a deep breath, giving herself time to collect her thoughts. 

Lizzie grabbed her hand, "Come on" she said before dragging her down the hall. 

Lizzie was on a mission. It wasn't just her sister who needed help. Hope was still hurting, and after everything she had been through, Lizzie knew it would take some time before Hope stopped blaming herself for everything. 

"You brought me to Landon's room?" Hope said in surprise, when Lizzie stopped. 

"Well, yeah. As much as I enjoy hanging out with you, I did kind of steal you from him earlier" Lizzie chuckled. 

"Let's just say I'm feeling generous" 

Hope couldn't help but laugh. "Always the hopeless romantic hey Lizzie?"

"Don't you dare tell anyone!" Lizzie threatened as she walked away but the smile on her face told Hope otherwise.

Hope knocked on Landon's door softly. She could hear the soft hum of his guitar. 

"Come in" she heard him call out.   
Hope walked in and shut the door behind her. Her face lit up like it always does when she sees him. "Hey" she said. 

He put the guitar down and got up to embrace her. 

"Hey" He smiled at her and brought his lips to hers. He still couldn't believe that this magical and insanely beautiful woman in front of him loved him. 

She brought her hands up to his face while she kissed him, almost to make sure that he didn't disappear. She spent too long without him and couldn't stand the thought of that happening again. 

The way she could just melt in his arms was enough to make her instantly feel a little bit better. Landon was the first to pull away, but not because he wanted to. He could feel the tension in her, and was concerned.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Scanning her face he could see that she had been crying and when she looked down and away from him, he knew what it was about. 

He brought her over to the bed and sat down. He put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head on his.

"Can we talk about this Hope?" he asked. The concern in his voice broke through and she lifted her head up to look at him. 

"Do you remember when you found me on that bench?" Her breathing sped up a little, and her voice trembled. 

Landon turned his body towards her and took her hands. He knew that must have been a painful moment for her, and he felt so guilty over it. She didn't blame him, as she told him before, but it was still something he will regret always. 

"Yes" he said, his voice low and his head down, looking at their hands. 

"I could have told you then. I thought about it. But, I was afraid." she started, "but if I had just told you, if I was stronger, then maybe everyone wouldn't have been hurting now. Josie wouldn't be hurting. You wouldn't be hurting..."

Landon stopped her. "Don't do this to yourself Hope." He placed his hand under her chin and gently guided her head up until she was looking into his eyes. 

"You thought you were doing the right thing. You saved us. You saved me." Landon stopped for a minute to brush the hair out of Hope's face. 

"I promised to fight for you. And I didn't. I promised to find you again. And I didn't" Landon felt so guilty for that. He was mad at himself for not knowing right away and he vowed to spend the rest of his life making up for it. 

"But Landon." Hope cried out, but he shook his head.

"The point is Hope, you shouldn't have to apologize. You can't beat yourself up over what happened. It's not going to do you any good. We are all ok. Josie will be ok"

Hope broke the eye contact and looked away. "Landon.." Hope whispered. 

He softly stroked her hand that he held on to. He wanted to take her into his arms. The feeling was as overwhelming as the day that he got his memories back. Hell, it was as strong as it was that day on the bench. He didn't tell her that, but in that moment all he wanted to do was take the beautiful stranger in his arms and not let go. But instead he rambled about his relationship troubles and could barely look at the girl with tears streaming down her face.  
He felt guilty for feeling that way, but now it made sense. His heart was drawn to her, like it had never truly forgot who she was.

"I hope so" Hope said quietly, breaking Landon's thoughts. She was looking at him with wide eyes, her hair spilling over her shoulders. He carefully tucked her hair back and pulled her in close. 

"I love you Hope Mikaelson" Landon leaned in and kissed her. She pressed her body closer to his and wrapped her arms around him. 

Hope loved this boy with everything she had, and she had missed him so much. 

"Can I stay here tonight?" she asked when they stopped for air. 

"I wouldn't want it any other way" Landon winked. Hope laughed and snuggled in close to him. 

"Good" she said with a smile on her face. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josie could hear a familiar scratching in her room. Weeks ago she would have said it was the rats, but she knew better now. 

She sat up confused. She thought Landon had broken the last spelled pen when he left with Raf. She grabbed the book that was now down by the foot of her bed. 

Josie opened the book up to a blank page. She flipped through trying to find what the person was writing. The sound had stopped now and so Josie had to take her time. She knew every entry in it, and didn't think it would take too long to find the new one. As she was flipping through, something caught her eye. 

Her heart sped up and she felt a loud "Oh!' slip from her mouth. 

She smoothed the page down with her hands while staring at the new writing. It was only two words long. Two words, written in familiar writing, that stole the breath from her chest. 

"Hey Jojo" it said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as the story is about Posie, I still needed a little bit of handon in there. A little bit for everyone!


	6. Chapter 6

Hope woke up in a fright. She sat up, her heart racing and sweat making her face feel sticky and warm. Ever since getting out of Malivore, she's been having nightmares. It has been a nightly routine for her.   
To avoid it, she had been just staying in town, watching the portal. Sleep was little easier in the day, when it was light out, so she would try to get a couple hours before school started.   
Ever since Landon told her he loved her though, she has been mostly staying with him. His presence calmed her. She still woke up, but Landon seemed to always sense when she did, and he would wrap his arms around her and pull her close. Tonight was no different. 

"Same dream?" he asked as he laced his fingers with hers. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and closed her eyes. She could feel his lips press against her forehead and she smiled.  
"It's just darkness, you know?" she said. "I feel weighted down by it. It's hard to explain."  
She hesitated before continuing. "I have no one to blame but myself."   
Landon shifted himself until he was over Hope, looking into her eyes. His hand found her cheek and she leaned her head into his touch.   
Her eyes fluttered as she let herself fall into the moment.   
"Hope, I couldn't even imagine what you went through but I'm here for you, in any way you need me. I love you so much." 

She brought her hands up to his face and pulled him down into a kiss. This was much better than babysitting a portal, she thought briefly, before allowing herself to completely fall into the feeling of his body against hers. 

When she woke up, she was famished. Landon was still asleep and she had to carefully unwrap herself from his arms without waking him up. 

She threw on a shirt of his and figured she could make it to her room to grab her a few things before she took a shower. It was early enough that most people wouldn't be roaming the halls. 

As she carefully closed the door behind her, she heard someone clear their throat. 

When she turned around, it was Josie. Josie looked like she hadn't slept all night.

"Uh..."Hope stammered as she stood there in Landon's shirt and her legs exposed. 

"It's fine Hope. I'm over it, believe me."Josie said, and even though she did mean it, she just wasn't in the mood to joke around. 

"Can you just get dressed? "Josie asked. "I'd like to talk to you about something."

Hope nodded "C'mon" she said to Josie. "I have to go to my room" Hope walked as quick as she could down the hall, with Josie following close behind her. 

Once in Hope's room, and she was able to get fully dressed, she turned to Josie. "So?"she said. "What do you want to talk about?"

Josie furrowed her brow, deep in thought for a few minutes before she started. "I know what that you and Lizzie reached out to Penelope"

"What? How? Did Lizzie tell you?"Hope stammered. 

"No, Penelope did. With this" and she tapped the journal in her arms. Hope hadn't noticed the book before in the hallway, but recognized it immediately from the day before. 

"How?"Hope asked. "I thought that was only for the people here with spelled pens?" 

"So did I"Josie said. "Until she wrote in it yesterday. She must have kept one pen for herself."

"What did she say?" 

Josie handed the journal to Hope. "Take a look"

Hope opened the journal and flipped through the pages. Josie had one corner of the paper turned down which made it easier to find.

"Hey Jojo," it read. 

"I know this must be a surprise for you. Believe me, when I got Lizzie's letter, I was surprised too. But I'm glad she wrote me (don't tell her I said that)  
I've been thinking of you. Have you opened the package yet?"

Hope looked at Josie "Did you?"

"No." Josie said. "I'm afraid to." Josie looked away, but was unable to hide the pained expression on her face. 

"I know you helped her Hope."Josie said. "Do you know what was on the letter she sent?"

Hope shook her head. "I didn't read it. I figured it was private. I just helped her send it"

"Why don't you ask Lizzie about it?"Hope asked. 

Josie shook her head. "Not yet. I need time to process this"

Hope handed the book back to Josie. "I'm here for you if you need me"she said and smiled. 

"Thanks"Josie said softly. "There's one more thing"she started.

"Do you mind if I stay in here for a little bit?"Josie asked. "I need some time, and I don't want to kick Lizzie out of our room"

Hope nodded. "Of course!"she exclaimed. "Stay as long as you need."

Hope smiled at Josie. She knew it was going to take time to get their friendship back, but she was happy that they had taken the first few steps towards that. 

"If you need anything, just let me know. Ok?" Hope said to Josie before she opened the door to leave. 

Josie nodded and watched Hope close the door behind herself.


	7. Chapter 7

Josie listened for Hope's footsteps to fade before she felt comfortable enough to do what she came here to do. 

She hated to lie to Hope, but she figured that Hope would understand. Josie knew that Lizzie and Hope had done the spell together and the only reasonable safe space to do it was Hope's room.  
Josie figured that she could find the notepad that Lizzie wrote her letter on, and could do some detective work to find out what was said. 

She scanned the room but didn't see any paper or notepads out in the open. Josie walked over to the wall and laid her hand upon it. Her hand glowed red as she siphoned some magic from the walls.  
Under her breath she mumbled a spell to find what you seek, and a small ball of light appeared over top of a desk in Hope's room. 

"Well that was easy" Josie muttered to herself. 

She opened the drawer to her desk and found a small notebook. She opened it up and noticed some pages were ripped out.  
Josie pulled the chair out and sat down at the desk. She continued to look through the drawer. 

Josie chuckled to herself when she noticed some sketches of Landon that were underneath the notebook.  
Hope really does love him, Josie thought. This was the first time that Josie honestly admitted to herself that Hope and Landon were actually kind of perfect for each other. 

She let out a deep breath. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. 

Under the sketches Josie found what she was looking for. She grabbed the pencil and closed the drawer. Now for some good old fashioned detective work.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope made her way back to Landon's room, his shirt from the morning thrown over her arm.

She knocked softly on the door before opening it. 

Landon was sitting on his bed, legs crossed, writing in his journal. 

"Hey!" he said with a huge smile on his face. "Where did you disappear to this morning? I missed waking up to your beautiful face"

Hope couldn't help but blush. Only Landon could make her feel so vulnerable but she loved it. She loved the way he made her feel.

Hope walked over to him and leaned down for a kiss. Before she could react, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down onto him. 

She laughed as she fell. The shirt she had draped over her arm got tangled up in their embrace causing Hope to laugh louder. 

"Hey, is this my favorite shirt?!" Landon said with shock but couldn't hide the teasing smile on his face. 

"Why yes it is" Hope replied. "I borrowed it this morning" 

Landon pretended to pout. "You wore nothing but my shirt and I missed it?!" He placed his hand over his heart "Ouch"

Hope playfully slapped him "It won't be the only time" she laughed.

She shifted her body so that she was laying next to him, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder.

"So" he said while stroking her cheek softly. "What did you get up to today?"

Hope shivered. His finger tickled her cheek but she loved the warmth of his touch. 

"Oh, you know. The usual. I ran into Josie this morning, while leaving your room... in your shirt..." Hope laughed. 

"Wait, what?" Landon gasped. 

"Yeah, I know. But it's fine. She was ok. She just needed to talk to me" 

"Everything ok?" Landon asked. 

Hope nodded. "Yeah. She wanted to ask me some questions, I answered best I could but I left her in my room to snoop" Hope said casually. 

"Snoop?" Landon said confused. "You knew she wanted to snoop and you let her?"

Hope nodded again. "She needs to work through something. And I know she doesn't exactly trust me fully, so I'm taking baby steps."

Landon looked at her in admiration. 

"You really are amazing" he said before pulling her in for a kiss. She curled her fingers in his hair and could feel herself melt into his arms. 

"Ok ok," she said breathlessly pulling herself away from him "We need to go to class. As much as I really" she said with emphasis, "want to lay here with you all day, we should probably be responsible"

Landon sighed. "Why do you always have to be the voice of reason" he asked. 

But he still got up, and stretched out his hand to her to pull her up to standing position. 

He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her again. He ran his hands along her back, pulling her in so she could feel every part of his body against hers. 

Then without warning, he pulled away. "That should last you for a little bit at least" he said breathing heavily.

Hope had no response. Her head was still spinning from that last kiss. 

"Shall we?" he asked as he walked to the door.

She walked over to him and laced her fingers through his. He brought her hand up to his mouth and gave it a kiss.

"Tease" she said as she walked out of his room. 

He laughed and winked at her. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josie sat at Hope's desk still, frustrated because the pencil trick didn't work on the notebook. The only thing she found was some of Hope's homework, and some scribbles.

Josie put her head in her hands and sighed.

"Find what you were looking for?" she heard from the doorway, startling her.

Josie turned around and saw Hope leaning against her doorframe. 

Josie stood up quickly, her mind racing with a million excuses. 

"I, uh, What do you mean?" she stammered. 

"It's ok Josie. I knew what you were doing when I left you" Hope walked over to the bookshelf next to her easel and paint supplies. She picked up a small notepad and handed it to Josie.

"Try this" Hope said with a smile. 

Josie blushed. "Thanks" she said quietly. "I'm sorry for" but Hope stopped her before she could finish.

"Don't be." 

"I'm going to meet Lizzie before class" Hope said. "Want to join us?"

Josie nodded. "Sure"

Hope laced her arm around Josie's. "Awesome" she said excitedly.


	8. Chapter 8

After a long day of classes, Hope felt restless. She hadn't been able to have a good workout session in a long time and her muscles were screaming at her. 

She was happy that Landon had agreed to train with her, especially since it would be really helpful for him to be able to defend himself when the next monster showed up. Hope knew he had potential, she had seen it twice already.   
When he faced Clarke with the bone whip, and when SimuLandon had saved her. 

But training with Landon wasn't going to be as intense as it could be if she were training with another wolf, or a vampire. She tried to see if Kaleb was interested, but he was busy. She could have asked Raf, but he was still away finding answers about his bloodline. She decided that after their training session, she would change and go for a run in the woods. That should help ease her muscles. 

Hope changed into more comfortable clothes and made her way to the gym a few minutes early so she could stretch before Landon showed up. 

"So.." she heard Landon say "You're going to take it easy on me right?" Landon said with a big smile on his face.   
"I mean," he continued "you are ridiculously sexy when you're kicking ass, I'd just prefer to keep the bruising to a minimum" 

Hope laughed. She walked over to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Now, why would I take it easy on you?" she teased. 

She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Ready?" she asked. 

"As I'll ever be" he replied. He was nervous, but he trusted Hope. 

"Oh good! You haven't started yet" they heard from the hall.

Lizzie, Josie and MG walked into the gym. "We placed bets to see how long before Hope makes you cry" Lizzie teased.

"Um, this is a private training session" Landon said. 

"Calm down Frodo. We aren't going anywhere" 

"Lizzie?" Hope pleaded with her eyes for Lizzie to give them some privacy.

"Ugh fine!" Lizzie said throwing her hands up in the air. 

"Let's go" she motioned to the other two. 

When they were gone, Hope turned back to Landon. "Let's do this" she said.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josie hadn't had a chance to take a look at the notepad Hope gave her until now. 

She asked MG to keep Lizzie busy, so she could steal a few minutes to herself. 

Josie headed up to their room and closed the door. She sat on her bed and pulled the notepad out from the bedside table. She had placed it underneath Penelope's journal, with the package that Penelope sent on top on of it.   
Josie took the little box out and examined it closely. She was still debating on whether or not she wanted to open it. She placed it beside her before grabbing the pencil she had taken from Hope's room. She figured there was probably a spell to find out what was written on the pad before, but Josie's mind wasn't clear enough to think about what the spell was. She was so focused on the note that Penelope left, and what Lizzie had written to her. 

Josie rubbed the pencil on the pad until she could see words start to form. 

"P, hope this works." the first line read but that was the only clear sentence that she could see. 

"Josie... forgot... Landon... breakup... Help.. misses you" were the only clear words she could make out. 

Josie sighed in frustration. What was Lizzie thinking? 

She threw the notepad down and picked up the journal. She opened it up to the page that Penelope had written on. 

Josie noticed that more words had appeared. 

"Please open the package" it said. 

Josie closed the book and hugged it to her chest. She closed her eyes and took a big breath. Be brave, she said to herself. 

She put the journal down and picked up the package. It wasn't very big, and was light in her hand. She gave it a little shake and could feel something knocking around on the inside. 

Josie slowly took the ribbon and pulled. If you were on the outside watching her, you would think she was going in slow motion. 

Josie placed the ribbon to the side and carefully ran her finger under the black wrapping paper. She took every precaution not to rip into it. 

Once the paper was off, Josie folded it and tied the ribbon around it, before placing it in the drawer next to her bed. Her heart just wouldn't let her throw it away.

She stared at the long skinny unwrapped box in her hands. She slid the lid off and was surprised to see that the object in the box was a simple pen. 

But knowing Penelope, Josie knew exactly what this pen was meant for. 

It took Josie a few minutes for her brain to catch up to what this meant. The raven on the box.. Penelope was trying to tell her how they could talk to each other!

She picked up the journal and turned it to the page where Penelope had written to her. 

She put the pen to the paper and wrote "Testing?" She wasn't sure what time it was for Penelope, but Josie hoped she was close by to hear the scribbling. 

Josie held her breath, and closed her eyes while she waited. Please, please, please she whispered to herself. 

When she heard the sound of writing in her lap, her eyes popped open so fast. 

"Finally!" 

"At least it didn't take you as long as it did to read my letter. But you took your damn time Jojo!" 

Josie couldn't help but smile. Her heart was racing as she wrote back, "Can you blame me?" 

"I didn't think I would ever hear from you again" Josie jotted down quickly. 

"I know" Penelope wrote. "I've missed you" 

As Josie saw the words appear, a small cry escaped her mouth. 

"I've missed you too" Josie replied. 

"SO WHAT IS THIS I HEAR ABOUT YOU AND BIRDBOY?!" 

Josie stared at the last message. She could feel the emotions behind the question. Figures Penelope would cut straight to the chase. 

Josie chewed her lip for a minute thinking about how to respond. 

"What exactly did Lizzie tell you?" she began.


	9. Chapter 9

Josie waited with baited breath for Penelope to respond. She was nervously tapping the pencil on the open page.   
She knew there was a time difference, so its possible that Penelope fell asleep or got busy or something, but Josie was having a really hard time.

"Ahhh!" she cried in frustration. She got up from the bed to stretch her legs, and paced back and forth in her room. 

This is ridiculous! she thought to herself. What am I doing? 

Josie decided that she couldn't wait any longer, and had to get out of her room for a bit. She hesitated at the door, taking a look back at the book still open on her bed. 

She sighed and turned around. Josie picked up the book and the spelled pen and cradled them both in her arms.

"Maybe I need help" she muttered under her breath before letting out a small laugh. 

Josie made her way downstairs to find her sister. She was still a little frustrated at Lizzie for what she did, but was also secretly happy that she was finally talking to Penelope again. Even if it was only a few sentences in a book. 

Lizzie was standing with Hope and Landon, laughing about something when Josie found them. 

Landon had his arm around Hope, but slowly lowered it when he saw Josie walk up to them.

"It's ok Landon." she said to him warmly. Her eyes were soft and he quickly relaxed. 

Hope turned to look at him and smiled. She patted his arm for reassurance, and he quickly took her hand and laced his fingers through hers. 

"Hey Jo" Lizzie said excitedly. 

Josie turned to her twin and punched her in the arm. 

"Ow!" Lizzie exclaimed. " What was that for?!" 

"For writing a letter to Penelope" Josie smirked. 

Lizzie looked at Hope and then back at Josie. "She helped!" 

Hope laughed "Way to throw me under the bus too Lizzie" she said, her eyes sparkling. Hope winked at Josie. 

Josie laughed. "It wouldn't be a normal day without Lizzie throwing someone under the bus" 

Lizzie sighed. "Really? So this is how its going to be from now on?" 

But before anyone could answer, Josie threw her arms around her twin and hugged her tight. 

"Um, ok?" Lizzie struggled to say as she was being crushed by her twin.

"This is for writing a letter to Penelope." 

Behind her, she could hear Hope laughing. "Twins" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. 

"Sisters" Josie said, before pulling Hope into the hug as well. 

Landon stood awkwardly on the side, watching the three girls. He knew how much he had missed Hope, but this was the first time it really dawned on him that he wasn't the only one. 

Once Josie let go, Hope turned to look at Landon. She could see a shadow cross his face, but it quickly disappeared once he realized she was looking at him. 

"Hey" she said to the girls. "I'm gonna give you two some privacy. There's probably a lot you need to talk about." 

The twins nodded in unison. Hope turned to take Landon's hand. "Walk with me?" she said softly. 

He smiled. "Ok" he said. 

Hope led Landon to the dock, the exact place where she had realized just how much she had cared for him after the whole knife thing. 

"Why here?" Landon asked curiously. 

"Well," Hope began "Do you remember when we were trying to figure out what you were? And we had that magical lie detector?" 

Landon nodded. How could he forget that day? It was the same day he was voted out of the school, got beat up by Jed and then Hope kissed him before he got onto the bus to find his mother.

"That was one of my favorite days" he said with a smirk. "Besides the motel room" he added. 

Hope laughed. "Mine too." 

Hope sat down at the end of the dock and tugged on Landon's arm until he did the same. She leaned on him, putting her head on his shoulder. He rested his head on hers and sighed. 

He looked down at their intertwined hands, and still couldn't understand why she chose him. His whole life he searched for a home, not realizing that his home was her until the first time they had kissed. 

"Hope?" he said hesitantly. 

"Mhmm?" She could sense the change in his voice, and turned to look into his eyes. 

He looked down and nervously played with her fingers. "I haven't been completely honest with you about something" he said. 

Hope didn't respond. She could tell he was holding his breath, wanting to say more. 

"After I woke up from the pit, not knowing what happened, and coming back here, I became... I don't know... dark, I guess" 

She squeezed his hand, reassuring him. "I felt, as corny as this sounds, hopeless" he said quietly. 

"Everyone was gone, Raf was a wolf, and I felt lost. I wondered around the school in a trance, racking my brain about that night.  
It got to the point that I just wanted it to end. I mean, I knew I couldn't die, but I just thought, maybe I could find some peace. So I tied a cinder block to my waist and jumped in. Right here actually" he motioned with his hand, pointing to the space in front of them. 

"How many times?" Hope asked, eyes wide in concern. 

"I don't know.. It started off as just wanting to let go, but I would see images, or memories I guess." Landon said softly, his head hung low. 

"I saw you" he said and looked up at her face. "I mean, I didn't know it was you, but I knew someone was buried in my brain."

"And well," he said, "Josie found me one night and was scared. She helped me realize that what I was doing wasn't helping." 

Landon took both of Hope's hands in his, and lifted them up to his mouth. He kissed them gently. "I don't want to keep anything from you Hope. And seeing you and her today, it dawned on me just how much you being gone affected really everyone and not just me. I know you think you have to sacrifice yourself again, but you don't. You can't. We won't let you" 

She looked into his eyes and could see the pain behind them. Tears had formed in her own and she fought to keep them from falling. 

She took his face into her hands and leaned in close enough to kiss him gently. "I'm not going anywhere" she said softly. "I promise"

She kissed him again before laying her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and gently kissed the top of her head. 

"We will figure this out together" she said, "All of us"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lizzie and Josie had gone back to their room, as Josie was eager to talk to her sister about what was going on.

"Lizzie?" Josie asked after they had both curled up on Josie's bed.

"Yeah?" her sister responded.

"I need to know exactly what you told Penelope" Josie sat up, the book still beside her and the pen tucked inside. 

Lizzie sat up and faced her twin. "I just gave her the rundown about what happened. Hope throwing herself into the pit, you dating Landon, Hope coming back.... I thought maybe if she reached out, you wouldn't be so sad anymore." 

"But why didn't you just talk to me?" Josie asked. 

"Would you have been honest with me?" Lizzie responded. Josie looked away. 

"I don't know" she said softly. The two girls sat in silence. Josie was mindlessly running her hand across Penelope's journal. 

"So?" Lizzie said, breaking the silence. "What was in the package?"

Josie looked up, brows furrowed. "A pen" she replied. 

"That's it?" Lizzie exclaimed, scrunching her nose up and looking at Josie in complete disbelief. 

"A spelled pen" Josie continued. "So we could talk..." Josie said slowly, hoping her twin would catch on. 

Lizzie's face lit up when it dawned on her. "Oh!" she said.

"Well, that's cool.. I guess" Lizzie trailed off because she noticed her sister wasn't even listening to her anymore. 

Josie held the journal in her hands, her eyes wide. There was a scratching noise coming from inside the book. 

Lizzie noticed Josie's hands trembling. "I'm guessing that's her right?" Lizzie asked. 

Josie nodded without lifting her eyes up. 

"Do you want some privacy?" Lizzie asked. Josie nodded again. 

"Ok" Lizzie said and got up from the bed. 

Josie waited until her sister left before opening the book. 

"I don't want to talk about Lizzie" it said.   
"I want to talk about you."

Josie grabbed the pen and laughed nervously before writing back. 

"It took you that long to say you didn't want to talk about Lizzie?" Josie wrote quickly but then second guessed herself and crossed it out. 

"Jojo? You know I can still see it when you cross it out. There is no eraser function" Josie blushed even though no one could see her, and could picture Penelope laughing.

"Oh right" she replied. Josie felt silly and shook her head at herself. Play it cool Saltzman she thought. 

"And, fyi, I was sleeping. Even I need my beauty sleep (as hard as it is to believe)" Penelope wrote.

"So" she continued "tell me about you and the boring boy"

Josie swallowed nervously. Where should she start?

"Long story short?" she started, "Hope jumped into the pit, everyone forgot her, Landon was killing himself, I stopped him, we became close and then he kissed me"

"Ok, I don't need that image in my head, thank you very much" Penelope said. 

Josie laughed, was that a hint of jealousy she detected?

"It doesn't matter.After I returned everyone's memories, Landon remembered his love for Hope and now her and Landon are back together. The way it should be" Josie replied. 

Penelope didn't respond right away. 

"Are you really ok?" Even though Josie couldn't hear Penelope ask this, she could feel how softly the question was meant to be asked.

Josie sighed. 

"I didn't think I was" she wrote. "It's been a hard few weeks." 

"Oh Josie" Penelope said, "When are you going to finally put yourself first? Stop taking care of everyone else. You deserve so much more"

Josie paused, thinking about the question that has been rolling around in her brain since the day Penelope said goodbye.

"Why did you leave?" Josie was feeling brave, and needed an answer to this question.

It took a few minutes for the response, and Josie could picture Penelope sitting there, reading her question and wondering how to respond. 

"Because I love you" 

Josie stared at those words, feeling so many emotions deep within. She held the pen to the paper, but couldn't bring herself to write anything. 

What the hell does that mean? That's not an answer!

"I'm sorry Jo. I thought that if I left, maybe it would fuel the fight inside of you. That as long as you were fighting for yourself, I could handle you hating me, because I knew that you could survive everything coming your way."

Josie felt a tear slide down her cheek and watched as it fell onto the open page. 

"I could never hate you" she wrote back. 

Josie closed the book, and took a deep breath. It finally dawned on her how much Penelope had been hurting too. 

She remembered the way Penelope had kissed her the last time they were together. Josie was crying, and Penelope's hands had reached up to her face to wipe her tears away. 

"I love you Jojo" Penelope had whispered in her ear. But Josie couldn't say it back. 

Even though she felt it, she couldn't form the words out loud.

Josie opened the book again and without hesitation she wrote "I love you too"


	10. Chapter 10

"You feeling ok Jo?" 

Josie stared at the question on the page. 

She had just told Penelope she loves her, and this is what she writes back? Josie was feeling very frustrated. 

"This doesn't sound like you" Penelope continued to write.

When Josie still didn't respond, mostly because she was staring at the page with complete disbelief, Penelope added "Landon really must have done a number on you"

Josie screamed. Seriously? That is what she thinks? Josie was shaking. She slammed the book shut and threw it across the room. 

Ok, Josie, just breathe. She was trying to calm herself down, but the rage inside her was like a boiling pot. She was afraid to let it overflow, but was having a harder time keeping it together.

No, this isn't finished. She walked over to the book and picked it up. She went back to her bed and sat down, taking a deep breath before opening the book back to the page they were communicating on. 

"Come on Pen" Josie wrote, pushing the pen a little too hard and making the words appear darker. "You can see through that farce even better than I can. Landon was never in love with me, and more importantly, I was never in love with him."

She didn't give Penelope a chance to respond before she continued. 

"Don't you see? Can't you figure it out? Hope was gone. YOU were gone. The only difference is that Hope sacrificed herself to save Landon... you just left."

Josie blinked back the tears forming in her eyes. She knew what she wrote was harsh, but she didn't care at this point. She needed to get this all out. She hadn't fully grieved and if anyone could tolerate Josie's anger, it was definitely going to be Penelope.

"Jo, you know why I did what I did. I told you" Penelope pleaded with Josie. 

"NO!"You could have stayed! You chose to go. You CHOSE to leave" 

"So now you're mad at me Jojo? Five seconds ago you told me you loved me" 

Josie curled her hands into fists, breathing deeply before responding.

"Yes I'm mad at you! Loving you makes me mad at you! I'm mad you walked out. I'm mad you didn't say something to me sooner! I'm mad you told me you loved me! It would have been so much easier if I didn't know!"

Josie stared at the words she had just written. Once she started writing, the words flowed out of her without control. She held her breath, waiting for Penelope to respond. Hoping that she would respond. Scared she wouldn't.

"Do you honestly believe that?" 

Josie's heart fell. No, yes, I don't know.. She had no idea what to say to her. She was so angry, not just at Penelope, but at herself as well. 

"Yes and no."she wrote. "I just miss you so much Pen"

The tears clouded her eyes, finally breaking free. Josie brought her hands up to her face and wiped the tears the best she could. She looked down to see that Penelope had written back.

"I know" she said. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lizzie sat with Hope, Landon, MG and Kaleb. 

They were all talking about their theories on if the portal being closed meant no more monsters. 

Hope was always on guard, cautiously pessimistic about the situation. 

Landon was the complete opposite. He assumed that since the portal was closed, the SimuLandon/Clarke plan had worked and they didn't have to worry about his mudfather anymore.

MG and Kaleb were on Landon's side, both trying to be on the positive side of things. 

"What do you think Lizzie?" MG asked her.

"Huh? What did you say" Lizzie had been thinking about Josie, locked in her room the past while. She hadn't told anyone about the spelled pen, or that Josie was talking to Penelope yet.   
Lizzie had wanted to tell Hope, but Hope and Landon have been inseparable lately and Lizzie had not had a moment alone with her. 

"The portal? Is it really over?" Kaleb repeated.

"Oh uh," Lizzie said "I'm with Hope on this" 

Hope smiled at her, but Lizzie could see the questions behind it. Hope turned to Landon and whispered in his ear. He nodded and gave her a kiss. 

Hope got up and motioned to Lizzie with a nod of her head.

"Sorry guys" Hope said to MG and Kaleb "I'm stealing Lizzie away" 

Hope grabbed Lizzie's hand and pulled her up. "Let's go" 

When they were far enough away from the boys, Hope stopped and turned to Lizzie. 

"What's going on?" Hope asked. "You've been out of it the past few hours" 

"Josie's talking to Penelope" Lizzie blurted out. 

"Wait, what?! How?" Hope asked, her voice rising an octave or two. 

Lizzie pulled Hope into an empty classroom. "The package, it was a spelled pen. Penelope has one on her end too. They've been communicating through that journal she left"

Hope's mouth formed an "Oh" The realization dawning on her.

"How is she?" Hope asked.

"I don't know" Lizzie said quietly, looking away. "I want to be there for her, like she's always been for me, but I don't want to bother her either." 

"I mean, this is my idea right?" Lizzie continued. "I started this."

Hope nodded slightly. "Ok, well, it can't hurt to just go knock on the door right? Find out how things are going?"

Lizzie shrugged her shoulders but didn't answer. 

"Come on" Hope said and linked her arm around Lizzie's. 

Lizzie really was happy Hope was back. They had never been close before, but with everything that happened, she needed Hope just as much as she needed Josie. Although she would never admit that out loud. 

"Thanks Hope" Lizzie said, smiling at her.

Hope bumped her shoulder against Lizzie's "Anytime" Hope said and smiled back.


	11. Chapter 11

Both Hope and Lizzie had tried knocking on the door, Josie wasn't answering them. 

When they tried to open the door, they found that it was locked. Lizzie was clearly frustrated and the worry on her face was pretty evident now. 

"Josette!" she yelled while banging on the door. Hope stood there, watching in bewilderment. 

"This is my room too!" Lizzie continued to yell. Still, Josie wouldn't answer. Hope touched Lizzie's shoulder softly. 

"Why don't I try?" she suggested. Lizzie nodded and stepped back.

"Josie?" Hope called out. She lay her palm against the door and whispered a spell under her breath. 

The door clicked and slowly creaked open. Before Hope could fully open the door, it swung wide open, with Josie standing there.

Her eyes were red and her cheeks were puffy. She was clearly pissed off and made no effort to hide her feelings.

"Me not answering Lizzie the first few times she yelled out wasn't warning enough to get you to leave me alone?!" she practically spit out. 

Lizzie stepped in front of Hope. "This isn't Hope's fault Jo" she said softly, trying to calm down her twin. 

"I was just worried about you" Lizzie tried to take her sister's hands, but Josie pulled away. 

"I'm fine!" Josie shot back, but when she saw Lizzie flinch at her words, Josie's anger melted.

"I'm sorry Lizzie. It's just, I'm feeling a lot of things right now, and I'm trying so hard to keep it together..." she trailed off. 

Lizzie grabbed her twin and pulled her in tight for a hug. Josie sobbed on her shoulder, finally letting go. 

Hope didn't want to intrude on the moment, so she slowly turned away. 

"Talk to you later?" she heard Lizzie call to her. She turned to face them and nodded. "When you need me, I'll be here" she said to both girls before they shut the door behind them.

"So?" Lizzie said to her sister once the tears had stopped flowing. "You want to talk about it?"

Josie took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her face with her free hand. Lizzie was still holding onto her other one.

"I kind of lost it on her" Josie muttered. 

"Who? Penelope?" Lizzie asked. Josie nodded. 

"Well, she did have it coming..." Lizzie replied. She hesitated a moment before continuing. "I'm sorry that I started this" 

"No, no" Josie shook her head. "I'm glad you did. I've been holding on to this for so long, it was bound to come out at some point." Josie squeezed her sister's hand.

"I'm happy that I get to talk to Penelope again. I really am" Josie really meant it. She was happy, even though a few minutes ago she was angry and crying. 

Her emotions were all over the place, and she realized that she had been like that ever since Penelope left. Her relationship with Landon was nothing more than a blanket, covering her from really having to deal with her emotions. She could focus on him and his happiness and not have to worry about the growing pit in her own heart. It was easier. 

With Hope back now though, Josie was kind of forced to deal with what was really bothering her. And that's what Josie was having a hard time coping with. 

"Are you sure?" Lizzie asked. Josie nodded, "I'm sure" she replied. 

Lizzie could see the book on Josie's bedside table, with the pen sitting on top. 

"Hey, have you eaten yet Jo?" Lizzie asked. Josie shook her head. "No, I was actually going to go get myself a snack. You want to come with me?"

"Sure, I'll meet you down there. I just want to grab a few things, you know, in case you decide to shut yourself up in our room again" Lizzie teased. 

Josie laughed. "Ok, fine" she said before leaving. 

When Lizzie was sure her sister was gone, she grabbed the spelled pen and grabbed a small notebook she had on her side of the room. 

She quickly jotted down a note before tearing off the paper and ripping it up. She put the pen back where she found it, grabbed a few things from her dresser and stuck them in a bag.

"Just in case" she laughed to herself before heading out to meet her sister downstairs.

Meanwhile, Penelope was sitting on her bed in her dorm room, chewing on her lip, waiting for the girl she loved she write her back.

When she heard the scratches, her heart skipped a beat. But when she went to read what was written, she realized that the note was not from Josie. 

"She needs you. More than you know" 

Penelope stared at those words for a long time.  
What could she do all the way from here?

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Hope's room, her and Landon were laying in her bed, his arm under her shoulder and her head resting on his chest. His other hand was intertwined with her own, and he was softly humming to her.  
She had her eyes closed, and could feel the vibration of him humming in her ear. She was so happy. Happier than she had even been.

"I could just stay here, like this, forever" Hope said softly. Landon chuckled. He brought Hope's hand to his mouth and softly kissed each of her knuckles, before leaning down and kissing her softly on her forehead.

"Is that a promise?" he whispered. Hope nodded. In this moment, nothing could touch her. She was on cloud 9 and had no intentions on coming down.

Hope propped herself on her elbow, and looked down into Landon's eyes. "I mean it" she said. 

Landon smiled and Hope's heart flipped in her chest. The butterflies she feels whenever she is with him always surprised her. She never could have imagined how someone could make her feel this way. His voice sent shivers up and down her spine. Her body vibrated with every touch of his. And his kiss.. oh his kiss.. She could feel herself blush. 

Landon brought his hand up to her face and softly trailed his fingers along her cheek. She could feel her heart beating fast, and was sure Landon could hear the pounding of it against her chest.  
Her body shivered as his finger reached her lips, softly tracing them. 

"Are you cold?" he asked, noticing the slight tremble in her. She shook her head. "Not at all" she said. 

Hope couldn't wait any longer, this space between them was torture. She leaned in and crushed her lips against his, letting a soft moan escape as his hand reached behind her head and pulled her in even closer. 

Landon reached his other arm around her and gracefully, Hope thought with surprise, flipped the two of them around so that Hope was now the one with her back against the bed and Landon was looking down at her. 

Hope couldn't help but pout because he had stopped their kiss briefly while performing this maneuver.

Landon caught on and softly laughed, teasing her slightly. He trailed kisses along her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead before finding his way to her lips.

"I want to stay like this forever too" he whispered before he couldn't wait any longer and gave in to his and her desire to close the small space between them.


	12. Chapter 12

"Ready for another round?" 

"You sure you're up for it?" Hope teased before winking at Landon. They were both sweating and breathing heavily. 

Landon pretended to look shocked and hurt before answering. 

"Always" he said with a slight snarl and a twinkle in his eye. Hope smirked. 

"Ok, you asked for it" she said. Her body took a natural fight stance and before Landon had the chance to think about it, she turned her body and kicked her leg out towards him. 

Thankfully he was prepared and blocked her side kick. Hope had been teaching him to fight and he was starting to actually be decent at it. He thought so anyways. 

"I'm impressed" 

"You shouldn't be" Landon replied "You're a great teacher" 

Hope launched into her boxer's shuffle after Landon's deflection. Landon mimicked her movements. He brought his hands up, ready to block anything that came his way. 

Jab *block* Cross *block* Hook *block*

While Landon was thinking about how impressed he was about doing so well, he didn't notice Hope kick her leg out in a sweep and hook behind his ankle before taking him down. 

He fell hard, but Hope was prepared and had her arm under his head so quickly so that he landed much softer than he anticipated.

"Sorry" he said sheepishly "I got distracted" 

"High five yourself after the fight is done, k?" Hope teased. She sat across Landon's lap, pinning his legs down. 

He sat up and put his arms around her waist. 

"That wasn't why I was distracted" Landon said with a smirk on his face. Hope playfully slapped him on the chest. He pretended to wince in pain. 

"I guarantee that no monster I fight is going to be as sexy as you are" he continued. 

Hope rolled her eyes, before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. She stood up and offered her hand out to him.

He took it and once standing pulled her into a hug. She leaned into him and kissed him gently on the lips. 

"Gross" they both heard from the doorway. "Get a room!" 

They turned to see Lizzie standing there with her arms crossed. 

"Ok, well, I'm going to shower." Landon said before rolling his eyes at Lizzie. 

He turned back to Hope "You know where to find me should you need anything" he said slyly before winking at her and walking out.

"Ew, did he just ask you to....." Lizzie said while throwing her hands up in the air "ugh nevermind, I don't need to know"

Hope laughed. "The less you know the better" she said to her friend before following her boyfriend out the door. 

"Wait! Hope!" Lizzie called out as she chased after her. Hope turned, a slight scowl on her face.

"Oh relax, I won't take long" Lizzie said sarcastically. "You will have time to catch up with the hobbit, I promise"

Hope and Lizzie both started to laugh. "Ok, ok, what is it" Hope asked after they were both done.

"Help me to convince my dad to let me throw a party" Lizzie said "I really think it would help lift everyone's spirits around here" she blurted out before Hope could respond.

"Why me?" Hope asked, looking at Lizzie with wide blue eyes. 

"Because he listens to you" Lizzie said, before breaking eye contact briefly and looking away. She knew this was a touchy subject and although they were friends now, it had been the cause of jealousy previously. 

Hope couldn't help but soften her stance and stepped up closer to her friend before wrapping her arms around her for a hug.

"Ok" Hope agreed. 

Lizzie returned the hug. "Thank you" she said with a smile. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
It had been a little while since Josie had written to Penelope. She had so much to think about after the last time they communicated. But after spending some time with her sister and her friends, she realized that she was still feeling really lonely. The only thing she figured would cheer her up, would be to talk to the one person she couldn't spend time with. 

Something was better than nothing right?

Because Josie had told Lizzie what was happening, she didn't have to make up any excuses for some time alone. Lizzie wanted to make her sister happy and had no problems giving her the space she needed. 

And Lizzie seemed buzzed on some new idea that she had planned out, so that kept her pretty busy. Josie was happy, but it felt unnatural for her to be the one being looked after, especially by Lizzie. 

It made her feel so out of place, and maybe that was what could be contributing to her unease lately. Either way, she needed to talk to Penelope. 

"Pen" she jotted in the journal. "You awake?"

She wasn't sure what Penelope's schedule was but figured at this time of day, it was a safe bet that she was close by the book. 

Josie had waited all day and the anticipation was making her restless. 

"I'm here" Penelope finally wrote back. Josie breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't even aware she was holding her breath until then.

"So.." Josie wrote "What have you been up to today?"

"Is this the "how's the weather" portion of our relationship now Jo?" Penelope replied.

Josie couldn't help but laugh. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head in a no gesture even though she was alone. 

"I'm just curious about what you do at that fancy witch school you go to" Josie wrote. 

"Fine, I'll play along" Penelope replied. "Classes are more intense than they were at SBS. We learn actual spells, useful ones for instance. We learn how to tap into our powers, and the full potential of what we can do.  
They aren't afraid of us here."

Josie sighed. "Sounds nice" she wrote back.

"Plus no vampires and werewolves either. Although it does get a little dull" 

Josie laughed. Of course, Penelope would find it dull. 

"So..." Josie wrote "Any.. um.. interesting witches there?" Josie clenched her jaw and breathed deep. 

"Are you asking if I'm seeing anyone Jojo?" 

Josie didn't reply. She knew Penelope would see right through her. But she was afraid of the answer even though she asked the question. She chewed on her lip, trying to think of the right response. 

"You know" Penelope continued "If you keep chewing on your lip like that, you are going to end up putting a hole right through it"

Josie let out a small gasp. How did she?

"I know you well Josie." Penelope answered, without any prompt from Josie. 

"Regardless of what you think, I probably know you better than anyone. While you were so busy looking out for everyone else, I was watching you. I was looking out for you"

"And no" she continued. "There are no 'interesting' witches here." 

"Besides" Penelope continued to write "You are a legend here. The infamous siphoner witch from the Gemini Coven. You're a star, and I'm guilty by association" 

Josie stared in disbelief. "Me? No way" she replied. 

"Why would I lie about that?" Penelope wrote back. "Have I really ever lied to you about anything?"

"That should be a no, Jo" Penelope wrote before Josie could answer back. 

"Oh, and don't tell Lizzie about that ok? She doesn't need an even bigger head than the one she's got already" 

Josie laughed. "Ok, I promise I won't tell Lizzie" she replied back. 

"Hey" Penelope wrote. "I want to try something" 

"What?" Josie asked back. 

"Close your eyes."

"Why" Josie was confused.

"Just trust me" Penelope wrote. "Close your eyes and picture me. I know that's not hard for you to do" 

Josie smirked. She closed her eyes and pictured Pen's face in her mind. She saw the mischievous twinkle in her eye and it made Josie's heart flutter. 

She concentrated on each detail in Penelope's face, and the way her touch made her whole body shiver with excitement. She imagined Penelope's hand on her cheek, softly caressing her. 

It was so lifelike that she actually felt something brush across her lips and up her cheek. She gasped and opened her eyes. The hair on her arms was standing straight up and her whole body felt like an electric charge had gone through her.

"What was that?!" Josie scribbled furiously. She couldn't get her hands to stop shaking. 

"They've been teaching us all forms of astral projection here. I wanted to see if I could do it on my own. It worked right? You felt that?"

Josie put her hand up to her cheek. She could still feel the warmth of the caress. 

"Yes" Josie said breathlessly. 

"Do you remember when the school showed that cartoon about the vampire and the human falling in love?" Penelope wrote, changing the subject. 

"Yeah" Josie replied, her brows furrowed. 

"I remember your face lighting up, and the way you leaned your head to the side, a small smile on your face." Penelope wrote. 

"How do you know that?" Josie questioned.

"I wasn't watching the movie" Penelope replied. 

"Is there a point to this change of subject Pen?" Josie wrote. Her head was still spinning from the "touch" and she was a little frustrated that Penelope was talking about some cartoon from ages ago. 

"What was the thing they called it, when they knew they were made for each other?" Penelope asked.

"Um, a zing? I think" Josie replied. 

"That's right" Penelope wrote back. "That's what it was"

"Are you saying that's what you felt for me?" Josie asked Penelope.

"No, Jojo." Penelope replied. Josie felt a little hurt by her answer.

"It was more than a zing" Penelope continued. "It was a whole damn wildfire"

Wow, Josie thought to herself. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. 

"You don't need to respond Josie" Penelope wrote after a few minutes of silence. But the writing was smaller this time, betraying the emotions behind the words.

"I should rest anyways. That spell took a lot out of me" Penelope continued. 

And before Josie could respond, the book went quiet. She knew Penelope wasn't going to write anything else.

She closed the book and laid her head on her pillow. 

Wildfire? Josie thought to herself. Where have I heard that before?


	13. Chapter 13

Josie made it her mission to find out everything she could about astral projection. She needed something to distract her from the fact that Penelope hadn't responded to her in a couple of days, despite having sent her numerous messages.

She even apologized, although she didn't think that she needed to. She wasn't sure what she had done wrong, and it was driving her crazy. Penelope had only confirmed that she loved her, but Josie already knew that. 

What was she supposed to say that she hadn't already?

She knew Hope had dabbled in astral projection before, and decided that the best source of knowledge would be from someone who grew up in a magic family.

Josie knocked on Hope's door, but didn't receive a response. She knocked again, really hoping that she didn't have to go track her down in Landon's room. When she didn't respond again, Josie sighed in frustration. 

But before she could turn to head down the hallway to Landon's room, Josie saw Hope coming down the hall towards her room. She was alone, which was odd but Josie was happy about. 

The less people she had to explain it to, the better.

"Josie?" Hope said, cocking her head to the side, her eyes full of questions. 

"Hey Hope" Josie said "Ummm, I kind of need your help with something.." Josie scrunched her nose up and took a deep breath before continuing. 

"I would prefer not to involve anyone else..." she said trailing off.

Hope looked at her for a few minutes, before nodding and opening the door to her room. Hope waved an arm in front of her, inviting Josie inside. 

"I'm not keeping you from anything am I?" Josie asked. 

Hope shook her head "Nope" 

Josie gave a small nod in agreement and sat down on Hope's bed. 

"I was kind of hoping you could help me with astral projection" Josie said quickly. 

Hope looked at her in shock. "That's a big spell Jo" she said with concern. 

Josie looked away and sighed. She was going to have to tell Hope what happened with Penelope if she was going to have Hope understand.

"Maybe you should have a seat" Josie started before launching into the last talk she had with Penelope. 

"So she touched you?" Hope said in shock. 

"I think so" Josie was fiddling with her hands, looking all around the room but not at Hope. 

"And you want to be able to do the same?" Hope asked.

Josie nodded. "It's stupid right?" 

"I don't think it's stupid at all" Hope replied softly.

"But it is difficult. And it takes a lot out of you. But, you might be ok considering you have to siphon before you cast. It would be your source of magic that would be drained quickly, whoever you siphon. " 

Josie looked at Hope with wide eyes.

"I'm guessing it's me you want to siphon?" Hope asked. 

"Well, I... you did say that you would help any way you could" Josie stammered. 

Hope sighed. "Yeah, I did say that didn't I?" 

"Hope, I'm not saying we have to do this right away. I mean, Penelope isn't even talking to me right now." Josie looked down at her hands, biting back the tears. 

"I'm sure she will talk to you again Jo" Hope said softly, placing her hand on Josie's shoulder.

Josie swallowed back a sob, and nodded. 

"Thanks Hope" she said before getting up tp leave.

Hope smiled and gave a small nod of her head.

Josie shut Hope's door and turned down the hall towards her own room.

She was going to have to make Penelope talk to her again.

She shut the door to her room, and grabbed the book out before sitting on her bed. 

"Penelope" she wrote. 

"You can't ignore me forever." 

It took a few minutes but Josie heard the familiar scratching and her heart skipped a beat. 

"Who said I was ignoring you?" Penelope wrote back. "Can't a girl just want someone to chase them for a little bit?" 

Josie chuckled and rolled her eyes. 

"You really are one of a kind Pen" Josie wrote laughing to herself. 

"And don't forget it" Penelope replied. 

"So, any interesting witches at your school?" Penelope wrote to Josie

Josie couldn't help but break out into a wide smile. 

"Actually..." Josie wrote before adding a winking face

"JoJo!" 

"You asked!" Josie replied. 

"If you could see me right now, you would see me roll my eyes at you" Penelope scribbled back to her.

"And you would hear me laughing at you right now" Josie shot back.

"Practice any fun spells lately Pen?" Josie asked. 

"Not as fun as the last one I showed you"

"Yeah, that one was my favorite"

"I am working on something else" Penelope wrote.

"Oh?" Josie asked. "Care to show me?"

"It's not ready yet Jo" 

"Oh ok" Josie wrote in disappointment. 

"What are wearing?" Penelope wrote.

"Pen!" 

"Hey! Can't blame a girl for trying!" 

Josie laughed. She could feel her cheeks go red and she was thankful that no one could see her right now.

"In all seriousness Jo, how are things going there?"

Josie hesitated before replying.

"Things are fine here. There haven't been any monster attacks lately. Oh and Raf found his dad! Everyone seems happy"

"And you?" Penelope wrote.

"I'm fine" Josie replied.

"Really?" 

"Yes!" Josie wrote quickly. 

"I don't believe you" 

Josie sighed in frustration.

"Drop it Pen" 

"Not a chance" Penelope wrote back. 

"One way or the other, I will get you to open up Jo. I promise you that"


	14. Chapter 14

"Name one thing you've done for yourself lately Josie" Penelope wrote, but the shakiness of the words betrayed how frustrated she was at that moment.

Josie sat there speechless. Why does Penelope always have to push? She does plenty of things for herself! 

Josie sat there, pen to paper, but could not bring herself to write anything. 

"I'm waiting...." 

Josie rolled her eyes. "You can wait longer" she said into the air, not caring that she was talking to herself.

She needed to have something to write back, something to get Penelope off her back about this.

But even her wish at fake Christmas had been about the perfect gift for her father. Did she even want anything for herself?

The whole time with Landon was trying to make him happy, to make him stop himself from drowning over and over again. Lizzie didn't need her anymore. So what has she done for herself.

"I'm right and you know it Jo" Penelope said, breaking Josie out of her trance. 

"Why do you do this?" 

"BECAUSE I CARE JOSIE!" 

Josie stared at the page. 

"Someone has to fight for you" Penelope continued "Especially since you won't. After all this time, you still won't."

"Pen" Josie started but wasn't sure how to finish the sentence.

"Tell me Jo" Penelope interrupted "Did you find out about the merge? Do you know now?"

Josie felt a tear roll down her face. She hadn't even realized she was crying. 

"I did" Josie wrote, pen barely touching the page. 

"And?" 

"What am I supposed to say Pen?" Josie wrote, frustrated that she was bringing this up.

"Am I supposed to say thank you? Am I supposed to be happy that you decided to spring this on me? Am I supposed to be ok with the fact that one day I might die? Or that my sister might die?" 

"TELL ME PENELOPE BECAUSE I'M REALLY AT A LOSS HERE!!!" Josie was hyperventilating now, her body shaking in rage. Josie had been bottling all of this up for so long, and she had been trying so hard to keep it to herself. 

With everything that happened recently, who was she supposed to turn to, who was she supposed to confide in?

Lizzie didn't want to think about it, she was on her "year of yes" . Her dad was no longer at the school and let's face it, how much was he really going to talk to her about it?

Landon had his own problems and MG was too busy chasing after her sister. And Penelope was gone.

But now she's not. Now Penelope was here, talking to her, and she froze up. 

"I'm sorry Pen" Josie wrote. 

"Don't be Jojo" Penelope replied. "I don't want your apology. I want you to open up to me. I want you to be ok. I want you to live"

Josie's breath caught at the last part. 

"I wish you were here" she wrote quickly so she wouldn't chicken out. 

"Me too Josie" Penelope wrote. "Me too"

"Have you?" Josie started but couldn't find it in her to finish.

"Yes" Penelope replied. 

"You didn't know what I was going to ask" 

"You were going to ask if I ever thought about coming back. Am I right?"

Josie nodded without thinking about it. 

"I'll take your silence as confirmation" Penelope wrote. 

"So what's stopping you?" Josie fired back. 

"It's complicated Josie"

"How?" 

"Because you aren't ready for me to come back yet" 

A knock on the door interrupted Josie from replying. 

"Come in" Josie called out. MG opened the door.

"Hey Jo" he said "Everyone is missing you downstairs. Thought maybe I would come up and steal you away for a bit?" MG said hopefully. 

Josie looked down at the book, thinking. 

"Yeah, I'm done here" she replied before closing the book and putting it away. 

"Let's go" she said and linked her arm with MG's. 

"Cool" MG said with a huge smile on his face.


	15. Chapter 15

Josie sat quietly while her friends around her buzzed excitedly about the party Lizzie was planning. She was happy for the distraction and was thankful for MG for coming to get her.  
"I wanted the party to be a surprise Jo" Lizzie said to her, her eyes wide and hopeful for her sister's approval. "Things have just been so crazy lately and I thought we all could use a break"

Everyone was looking at Josie, the excitement on pause, waiting on her response. Josie looked around at her friends and a huge wave of gratitude washed over her.  
"I think it's a great idea Lizzie"   
"You sure"   
Josie nodded. They really could all use a break. And who was Josie to take that away from her friends?  
"You've been pretty distant lately Jo" MG whispered to her once everyone's focus was elsewhere. "You ok?"  
Josie shrugged slightly and nodded. "I'm good, really"   
"Ok" he said softly, but Josie could see that he didn't really believe her. MG wasn't the type to push though and Josie was thankful for that. 

"Since Hope managed to convince my dad" Lizzie said loudly, looking at Hope and winking. "We need to make sure that we make this one something to remember"  
Landon and Hope sat on the couch opposite Josie, and Landon had his arm around Hope's shoulders. Hope smiled at Lizzie and nodded.  
"Aren't they all ones to remember?" she laughed. "I know the last one certainly was"   
Landon turned and looked at Hope, a flicker of sadness and guilt on his face. The last dance was the 80's dance, and Hope had watched her boyfriend leave the room with someone else.  
Hope closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean" but Hope's voice trailed off.   
Everyone was looking at Josie again, except for Landon. He was still looking at Hope and pulling her closer to him. Josie could see the pain behind his eyes, and saw the tiny sigh that escaped his lips.  
Josie had nothing to say and the atmosphere in the room had changed. Lizzie cleared her throat, causing everyone to turn to look at her.  
"Now that that's out of our systems, can we please focus on the task at hand?"   
Both Josie and Hope were grateful for Lizzie's distraction as the chatter started up again.   
Josie watched as Landon whispered in Hope's ear, and Hope nod to whatever was just said.

"We're gonna go" Hope said getting up, grabbing Landon's hand and pulling him up as well.   
"But" Lizzie objected before stopping herself. She shook whatever thought she had in her head and nodded at Hope.  
"Ok, talk later?"  
Hope nodded before walking off, with Landon not far behind her.

"Alright" Lizzie said excitedly, trying to force the mood in the room. Josie leaned back against the couch and tuned out as her sister rambled on.   
The only thing Josie had on her mind was her last conversation with Penelope.  
She couldn't understand what Penelope meant when she said she wasn't ready for her to come back.   
Wouldn't everything be better if she came back? Wouldn't Josie be happier? Josie wanted to run back to her room and demand that Penelope tell her what she meant.   
But Josie didn't want to upset her friends, especially since MG was acting so worried. She couldn't stand putting her friends through anymore pain.  
And Lizzie was so excited about the party, and Josie couldn't take that away from her.

"Earth to Jo" Lizzie said, snapping her out of it. Lizzie was looking at her, waiting on a response from Josie.  
"Huh?" Josie shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut quickly before looking at her sister who was watching her.  
"Are you ok?" Lizzie's tone changed and her eyes softened.   
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. I'm sorry. What did you ask?" Josie brushed the hair from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear.   
Lizzie stared at her for a minute, deciding on whether or not to push it any further or keep going. Josie could see the indecisiveness flash behind her sister's eyes.   
"A theme? I was wondering if we should have one" Lizzie asked again. "Oh, a theme, right" Josie thought for a moment, trying to come up with something to help Lizzie out.  
"Hope always calls us the super squad?" Josie suggested and Lizzie's eyes flashed brightly.   
"We could make it a superhero theme!" Josie smiled at her sister's enthusiasm. "Yeah, that would be perfect"  
Lizzie leaned over and hugged Josie. "Thanks Jo!"  
"Ok, we need to brainstorm!" Lizzie looked at MG, "You speak nerd, you can help. Oh! and we should get Landon"   
MG beamed. His crush on Lizzie clearly hadn't gone away and he flashed Josie a quick smile of appreciation. 

"I'm gonna go" Josie said, standing up and smoothing her skirt out. They all looked at her quickly and mumbled their goodbyes before going back to planning now that the theme had been chosen.

Josie slowly walked through the school, conflicted on whether or not she should head back to her room or seek out Hope to make sure she was ok after what happened.   
Josie's concern won in the end and she found herself walking towards Hope's room. She knocked but no one answered. She put her ear to the door, listening but it was dead silent.   
She didn't want to go to Landon's room, but she was still avoiding going back to hers so she had no choice. 

Josie knocked on Landon's door but was met with the same results as she had earlier. Josie walked through the school, looking for them, checking the gym, the library and anywhere else she could think of they could be.

Something caught her eye as she was walking by a window that faced the lake, and she stopped. She saw Hope and Landon sitting on the docks, both had their feet in the water and Hope was leaning on Landon's shoulder.   
Josie felt a flash on anger course through her and she leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Ever since she had been working with Vardemus, or Clarke rather, she would get these fits of rage that briefly consumed her.   
The hourglass stopped working ages ago, and Josie had been pushing the feelings down, ignoring them. She wasn't mad about Landon anymore, but she still couldn't help the anger that rose when she saw Hope and him happy.   
She was jealous. She wanted to be someone's priority. For once. She thought maybe she could have been Penelope's, but Penelope wasn't coming back. She made that perfectly clear. 

Josie stomped in frustration, tears running down her face. She made her way to her room, slamming the door behind her. She grabbed the book out and opened it up. 

"I can't figure you out Penelope" Josie scribbled down. "One minute you say you love me, and the next you say that you won't come back for me. I don't get it!"

"I never said I wouldn't come back for you" Penelope wrote. "I said that you weren't ready for me to come back. There's a big difference"

"How?" 

"You need to figure that out Jo! That's the whole point! Why did I leave? Why didn't I stay? I loved you and I didn't stay! Why?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Josie was shaking with anger. She hadn't dealt with it before coming to her room and she could feel it bubble over. Her hands trembled and there was a ringing in her ears. She brought her hands to her temple and pushed against her head, grabbing her hair in the process. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on her bottom lip. All she wanted to do was scream. Her body involuntary siphoned from the school through her feet and the magic coursed through her body. She could feel the anger pulsing, getting bigger and bigger. 

Josie heard the scribbling in the book and she glanced down at the words forming on the page.   
"Maybe this was a mistake. I can't tell you what you need to figure out Jo. Only you can."

Josie could feel tears start to form in the corner of her eyes and she squeezed them shut again. She couldn't control the anger anymore and she could feel the bubble burst. A burst of energy blasted from her body, creating the objects directly in front of her to explode. She felt better instantly and her body slowly starting feeling normal again.Once she fully regained composure, she looked around at the damage. 

"Oh great, Lizzie is going to kill me"


	16. Chapter 16

Josie stared at the mess in her room. She was too exhausted to do anything about it. Her mind was racing and her body was trembling.

Josie went back to the book and tried to register what Penelope was trying to say.

"Please don't leave me again Penelope" Josie begged. "I need you"

Josie's sobs consumed her and she curled up in her bed, clutching the book to her chest.

"Oh my God!" Lizzie screamed as she walked in, startling Josie. "What happened?" But the moment she looked at her sister, her façade of anger crumbled.Lizzie went to her sister and took her in her arms. 

Josie curled into Lizzie's chest, soaking Lizzie's shirt with her tears.

"Jo, what happened? What's wrong?" Lizzie was frantic and had no idea how to help her sister. 

"Help!" Lizzie yelled out, hoping someone could hear her. A young vampire who was walking by happened to hear Lizzie's cries and popped her head into the room. 

"Go find Hope" Lizzie ordered and the young vamp nodded and took off. 

Lizzie tried to console her sister. "Shh, its going to be ok" she said, smoothing down Josie's hair. 

"What's happening? Oy my god!" Hope cried, walking into the room. She ran to the twins on the bed and sat on the other side of Josie. Hope rolled her hands together and mumbled a spell under her breath. A golden butterfly shimmered in the air and flew up, fluttering its wings and leaving behind a dusty gold trail as it took off.

"What was that?" Lizzie asked, her eyes wide. Hope looked down at Josie and rubbed her back. "It's a comfort spell" 

Whatever Hope did was starting to work and both girls could feel Josie start to calm down. Josie sat up, her cheeks stained and her eyes red. 

"You want to talk about it?" Hope took Josie's hand and squeezed it tight. Josie shook her head. "I'd like to talk to my sister alone if that's ok"

Hope nodded. "Of course." She turned to Lizzie and gave her a sympathetic look. _Let me know?_ she mouthed to Lizzie before leaving. Lizzie nodded and waited for Hope to shut the door.

"Is this about Penelope?" Lizzie asked her point blank. Josie nodded. "Yes and no" she replied.

Josie sighed. "It would be easier if you just read about it" and she handed her sister the book.

Lizzie hesitated before taking it. "Are you sure?" Josie nodded again and took a breath before closing her eyes briefly. 

Josie opened the book to the first page that her and Penelope had started on. "From there" she said, pointing. 

Lizzie read through everything, letting out a small gasp a few times. When she was done, she closed the book and gave it back to Josie.

Lizzie looked upon her sister with sympathy. "I think I know what she means, Jo" Lizzie swallowed and looked away.

"Remember the day you were elected to the honor council?" and Josie nodded.

"Well" Lizzie continued, "before Raf and I... you know.." Lizzie blushed. " Penelope paid me a visit." Josie's eyes grew wide. 

"You never told me that!" she said and Lizzie nodded. "I know"

"She called me a black hole of time and energy and love" Lizzie looked away before continuing "But she was right Jo" 

"What no! No she wasn't" Josie cried, taking her sister's hands in her own. 

"Yes she was" Lizzie said again. "You spend so much time looking after me. And looking after dad. And looking after Landon, that you never looked after yourself!" 

Lizzie turned to Josie, dropping her hands and putting them on Josie's shoulders instead.

"You have to stop worrying about us. The last few weeks we have been worrying about you, and I thought Penelope was the answer to all of this, but I was wrong. I should have just talked to you"

Lizzie stood up and went to her own bed, sitting down on the edge of it.

"That's what Penelope wants. That's why she left right?" Lizzie nodded her head towards the book that Josie was still clutching to her chest.

Josie stared at Lizzie, thinking about everything that she said. "You're right" she whispered, looking away.

"I need help Liz" Josie cried. "I've been feeling lost, and angry lately. Mostly angry" she confessed. "I wish Emma was here"

Lizzie laughed. "Yeah, she could really help all of us right about now" Lizzie looked around the room. "Let's clean this up ok?" 

Josie nodded and set the book down. Both girls got up and made quick work of the mess together.

Once they were done, Josie sat back down on the bed, exhausted from everything earlier.

"While I was reading the book, Penelope left you another message" Lizzie told her sister before smiling. "I'll give you some privacy"

Josie bit her lip and looked down at the book. Breathing deep, she opened it up. 

"I never truly left you Jo. Not really. And I'll always be here, all you need to do is ask"


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for how long this has taken me to update. (and that this chapter is so short)  
> I started to work on it again, but it will be slow. I promise to finish it though.

_"I'm asking right now Pen. I feel like my head is spinning and I'm losing control_.”

Josie wasn’t just crying for help, she was screaming for it. Her head spun with darkness, the anger spreading through her body like a cancer, clinging to every inch of her skin. She felt the heaviness of her guilt tug at her heart, spitting her insecurities like poison, injecting into her veins with each passing second. 

“ _What are you talking about Jo_?”

Josie bristled with irritation. “ _Are you not listening to me_?”

“ _I’m trying! But you are being vague, and there are limits to words._ ”

“ _I want you to come home Penelope. I need you. No one else understands_ ”

A moment passed as Josie watched the pages of the journal. Her heart raced in her chest as her insecurities bubbled over. 

Penelope was taking too long to respond, and Josie wanted to throw the book across the room. Anger simmered just at the surface, and no matter how hard Josie tried, she was having a harder time of pushing it away. 

“ _Please_ ” Josie scribbled, still waiting for a response. 

A chill filled the air sending shivers down Josie’s spine. She closed her eyes and mumbled calming words under her breath. She had watched Lizzie go through this enough that she was sure she could calm herself down, but the magic kept pushing against her psyche, searching for a way out. “NO!” Josie screamed, jumping up and clutching at her head and pulling at her hair. 

The book was flung from her lap and landed with a loud thud against the floor. 

Josie’s body trembled as she slammed to the ground in pain, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her door flung open as MG and Lizzie came running into the room. Josie felt her body go weightless as MG picked her up and hugged her to his chest. “Shhh Jo, it’s ok”

“Lay her on the bed, get Hope and my dad” Lizzie fired off instructions as MG laid Josie down on her bed. She felt a cool hand against her forehead, and fingers brush back her hair. “You don’t look so good”

“AND WHO IS TO BLAME FOR THAT?” Josie screamed, sitting up and glaring at her sister before falling back down against the pillow and squeezing her eyes shut against the lights. 

“I don’t know how to help you,” Lizzie cried, sniffling back her tears. “This is my fault”

“No.. it’s my fault” A voice cut through the loud noises in Josie’s head. 

_ It is your fault  _ Josie thought, her anger growing as the voice grew louder. 

“Hope,” Lizzie said softly, “It’s not your fault. She’s my sister. I should have known something was going on with her”

Hope took a seat at the side of the bed and shook her head. “I hurt everyone by coming back. I never should have jumped into the pit”

“You’re right, you shouldn’t have. But Josie has been in pain ever since Penelope left. And I knew she was hurting, and I didn’t do anything to help.. Not like I should have”

“That’s not true Lizzie.”

“SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT UP!” Josie glared at the two shocked faces staring at her. “I just need you both to go away”

Lizzie frowned, “What’s going on Josie? Let me help you”

Josie shook her head, “Then go. I need to be alone”

Hope laid her hand on Lizzie’s shoulder. “Come on.” She stood and walked towards the door, looking back to look at the blonde who had hesitated. 

“Please Liz” Josie begged, her lips turned down into a pout. 

“Fine. But I won’t be far.” Lizzie leaned in and gave her sister a soft kiss on the forehead. “Call me if you need me”

Josie nodded and curled her knees against her chest. Once her room was empty, her eyes fell onto the open journal on the floor. 

She could see that there was still no response, only breaking Josie’s heart further. 

She didn't want to feel this anymore. She was tired of being hurt, of being chosen last. She just wanted it all to go away.

The darkness swirled around the broken shards of her heart, filling in the gaps as she finally gave in to the darkness, allowing the aguish to be buried deep.

Her eyes clouded over in shadows, as the pain slowly subsided within her. 

She was no longer going to be weak soft Josie. She was done feeling anything. 

Once Josie’s decision was made, the whole world felt lighter. 

She was no longer tied down to the sadness that weighed so heavily before.

She was finally free.

Josie pulled herself up from the bed and walked over to pick up the journal. 

She narrowed her eyes as words finally appeared on the page. 

“ _I’m coming back for you_ ”

Josie sneered, and picked up the pen to write her own message.

" _Don’t bother. I’m better off without you_ ”

She dropped the book to the floor, and snapped the pen in two, laughing as she did so. 

_ "Too little too late" _


	18. Chapter 18

Josie came upon the squad all huddled together in the common room, each of them with an expression that told her this wasn't a random gathering. Hope was tucked in tight against Landon, his hand clasped in hers, his thumb softly rubbing the back of her hand as she spoke. "I'm really worried--" but stopped mid-sentence as her eyes shifted off to the side, noticing her friend. 

Hope stood, her hand still in Landon's, as he too stood, following her gaze. "Jo?" he mumbled, causing a whiplash of heads to turn her way. 

Lizzie ran to her sister, throwing her arms around her and hugging her tight. "Oh my god," she murmured into Josie's shoulder, "We were so worried about you" 

Josie's arms hung limply at her sides, not returning the hug, nor saying anything. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at Hope, the darkness in her screaming to be let loose. She shook her sister off, and smirked at Lizzie's gasp of breath that followed. 

"Are you--are you ok?" Lizzie tilted her head to look her sister up and down, something not feeling right anymore. 

Josie laughed, "Me?" she brought her hand to her chest in feigned shock, "I'm perfect. Never better actually" 

Hope furrowed her brows, and stepped forward, dropping Landon's hand in the process. "I don't believe you"

"Of course Little Miss Perfect wouldn't believe me" Josie scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You going to run to Daddy and tattle on me, Hope?"

"Jo--" Lizzie was bewildered, "This isn't you.."

"Oh no, see I disagree," Josie responded with a growl, "This is finally me. That weak, pathetic doormat that you knew before is gone."

"You were never--" Hope tried to reply, but was stopped with a roaring laugh from Josie's lips. "Wasn't I though.. Hope" she said with a snarl. "I'm finally embracing who I was meant to be all along. I am finally free"

Lizzie's mouth was hanging open in complete disbelief, unable to respond. Josie tucked her finger under her sister's chin, pushing up roughly so her jaw would snap shut. "Oh come on sis," she pouted, dropping the corners of her lips, and squeezing her brows together, "You were the one who said we had to work on ourselves--"

"I didn't mean to turn evil" Lizzie fired off, pushing at Josie's hand. 

Josie's eyes flamed with rage, "Evil?!" she cried, lifting her hands up, palms face up. "I was pathetic before. I was a nobody. And now," she focused her eyes on her palms until they started to smoke and crackle, "Now-- I'm strong. I'm better. I'm fixed." 

MG, who was watching this whole exchange up until now with horror in his eyes, came to Lizzie's side, but his eyes were focused on his friend. "Josie--" he had started to say, but the fire only grew bolder in her palms, forcing him to stop and back up. "We can help you" he whispered, as he pulled at Lizzie's arms to move with him. 

Josie turned to Hope, who was prepared to do a sleeping spell on the fiery brunette, "I'd stop if I was you" Josie snarled, the flames crackling with rage. "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for you" 

"I--" Hope stammered, completely unsure on how this could be happening right now. Landon moved in front of Hope, his hands up in surrender. "Jo-- " he murmured softly, flicking his eyes around the room, "You don't want to do this"

"Oh but don't I?" she teased, rolling the flames in between her fingers now, her eyes flickering between black and their usual chocolate brown. "I mean, you like having all the power, don't you Hope?" Josie licked her lips as the fire grew. "You love running around here like you are stronger than everyone else... like you have no choice but to be the hero all the time--" 

The flame jumped from both hands, merging together until it was a large ball, hovering in one hand, pulsating with life as Josie continued. "Did you ever think that maybe we would have been fine without you?"

Landon shook his head, "Now wait a minute--" he interrupted, "This isn't Hope's fault" 

"Oh no?" Josie whipped her anger towards him now, "Is it yours?" 

Landon stammered, his eyes growing wide as the girl he knew slowly dissipated into the smoke from the fire. "Jo--"

"Jo..jo..jo--ugh" Josie moaned, "I'm so sick of tired of JO-- she's pathetic and weak.. and if you really think about it Landon-- all of this is your fault. You should have never come here"

Landon sighed, and hung his head. "You're right" he murmured, lowering his eyes as Hope shook her head in disbelief. "I'm the domino effect.. It all began with me. So take it out on me. Not them"

Josie laughed, the sound roaring with rage. "OOOH do I get to join the 'Who's killed Landon' club? Lucky me" 

The entire squad surrounded the angered witch now, forming a circle around her. Kaleb, who was usually so quick with a funny quip, stared in disbelief. 

"Oh come on now guys," Josie mocked them, "Stop with the puppy eyes. I've never felt better" 

"Just give me my sister back" Lizzie whimpered, her lip trembling in fear. 

"Stop your sniveling" Josie's voice dripped with disdain, "I am your sister now. Get used to it"

The flame in Josie's hand suddenly flickered as Josie's eyes rolled into the back of her head, dissipating quickly as she fell to the floor with a thud. Hope's hands shot under Josie's head, protecting it from bouncing against the hardwood. 

"What happened?" Lizzie asked in disbelief, rushing to her sister's side. 

"Sleeping spell" Hope mumbled, brushing back Josie's hair, "I had no choice. It was the only chance I was going to get while she was distracted."

"What are we going to do?" 

Hope sighed. "I don't know-" her shoulders sagged as her voice dropped, "But we need to get the real Josie back"

"I might be able to help with that" A voice off to the side said, startling them. 


	19. Chapter 19

All heads snapped to the sound, a gasp collectively being heard in unison. "Penelope?" Hope was shaking her head in confusion, not really sure how the witch was standing in front of her. "How are you here?"

Lizzie cocked her head to the side, before a smile curled across her face. "Astral projecting--am I right?"

Penelope nodded. "The witches here are helping me. They know about your coven, and they sensed this shift in Josie. I'm unable to get there right away, but I needed to see for myself"

"You're coming back?" Lizzie's face drained of color, "When?"

The image of Penelope flickered, and she disappeared as quickly as she had showed up. Josie stirred, bringing her hand to her head. Lizzie looked to Hope in a panic, but she was already whispering the words to put Josie to sleep again. "She's fighting the spell" Hope said, worry in her voice. 

"She is" Penelope's voice cut through their conversation again. Her image was crisper this time, and must have made some adjustments on her side so she could come back.

Landon knelt down to Josie, putting his hand on Hope's shoulder. "Maybe we should move her elsewhere?" motioning to the crowd that had gathered. 

Hope nodded, and flicked her eyes up to MG, who immediately scooped Josie up in his arms. "Where should we go?" 

"Basement. We can't do a barrier spell, because it won't work for her, so we will need to put her in the transitional cellar. With a bodyguard"

"I'll stay with her" He offered, a sad smile on his face. 

"I'll stay too" Landon replied, giving Hope a look of reassurance that everything would be ok. 

Hope hesitated briefly, before finally sucking in a breath and nodding. "I think that's a good idea"

Landon gave Hope a quick peck on the lips, his hand on her face, caressing it lightly. "You do your hero stuff, ok? Bring her back for us"

Hope swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "I'll do whatever I have to" 

"Me too" Lizzie piped up, putting her hand on Hope's shoulder. "I need my sister back"

Once the boys were gone, and Josie was safe, Hope and Lizzie turned back to Penelope, who was silently waiting. "Should we go elsewhere?" she asked, looking around. 

"Yeah--" Hope said breathlessly. "We can go to my room"

"Actually," Penelope interrupted, "Let's go to Josie's room"

"Uh," Lizzie stopped, holding up her hand. "Why exactly?"

Penelope clucked her tongue in annoyance, "There is something I need if we are going to help her"

"And just how do you think you are going to get it with your phantom hands, huh?"

Penelope rolled her eyes, "You have hands that work, don't you?"

"Ok-ok, Can we not feud right now?" Hope said, stopping the banter, and turning to fume at the both of them. "We are all here to help Josie, so let's put your war on pause"

"Fine" Lizzie huffed, throwing her hands up. "What is it that we are looking for?"

"An artifact I gave her when we were together" Penelope responded, a sad look briefly crossing her face. 

Lizzie scoffed. "You think she kept it?" 

Penelope crossed her arms over her chest. "Actually, yes I do"

"Can't we just do a spell for it?" Hope asked, trying to ease the tension. 

"No" Penelope said with a sigh. "I spelled it before I gave it to her. It's invisible to the naked eye. Only her and I had the code word for it"

"Code word?" Lizzie snorted, rolling her eyes. "You're starting to sound like Hope's nerdy boyfriend"

Hope rolled her eyes, while she stomped her foot impatiently against the hardwood floor. "Can we do this or not?"

"Gladly" Penelope replied, brushing passed them, heading in the direction of the twins' room. Once at the closed door, she stopped and turned. "What?" Lizzie teased, "Big bad witch needs someone else to open the door?"

"ENOUGH!" Hope yelled, startling both girls. "This isn't helping! There is something wrong with Josie, and if this thing will help get her back to normal, then we should try it. No more arguing, ok?"

Lizzie sighed, narrowing her eyes before finally dropping her shoulders in defeat. "Fine. You're right. We need Josie back"

"Ok, evil one," Lizzie said in the same breath, "What's the code word?"

* * *

MG and Landon sat outside the cell doors, both silently staring at Josie who had started to stir once again. 

"Maybe we should go get Hope?" MG asked, pulling himself up. 

"No--" Landon protested, "She entrusted us to do this. She has her own part to play. This is ours"

MG sighed before nodding and falling back down to the ground. "It's just-- it's Jo--you know?"

"Ugh" Josie's usually soft voice sounded harder now, deeper even. "You are pathetic"

MG and Landon both jumped up, turning to see Josie standing at the bars of the cell, her hands looped through the open spaces. 

"Whine whine whine" Josie mocked, clicking her tongue in disgust. "Is that all you do?"

"Josie--this isn't you-" Landon said softly, tucking his hands into his pockets, keeping his distance from her hands. 

"But it is me" she countered, "the newly improved me"

"I don't believe it" MG mumbled, shaking his head, "The real Josie would never act like this"

Josie slammed her hands down against the bars, "I am so sick and tired of that goody goody! She was weak. She was soft. She was the type of girl people left, never to think about again--"

"Is that what you think happened?" Penelope's voice startled Josie, making her face drain of all color. 

"Pen?"

Penelope, followed by Hope and Lizzie, came into view. Hope rushed to Landon's side, grabbing his hands for comfort. 

"Not a day went by where I didn't think of you" Penelope moved to the front of the cell, softening her eyes at her ex. 

Josie rolled her eyes as she snorted with disgust. "Right"

Penelope turned to Hope, who had a small object in her hand. "Do you remember this?" Penelope asked, motioning for Hope to reveal the object. 

It was a small black ivory bird, the wings outspread. "I carved it for you when we first started seeing each other"

Josie's eyes fixated on the little ornament, something familiar flashing through them. Her lower lip trembled in pain, but it didn't last long. 

"So?" she finally said, crossing her arms over her chest. "It means nothing now"

"That's not true, and you know it" Penelope fired back, her nostrils flaring with rage. "You kept it Jojo"

"Don't call me that" 

"Why not?" 

"Because you don't get to anymore. You left. You made your choice"

"You know why I did that"

Josie rolled her eyes, "That pathetic excuse?" She said in icy sarcasm. "You didn't honestly think I would believe that"

"It's the truth Jojo"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!!!!" Josie held her hands to her ears, her whole body vibrating with rage now. The room started to shake, and the bars on the cell started to bend. 

Josie's head shot up, her eyes red and glaring at them. "GO AWAY!" she threw out her hands, sending a blast of magic towards Penelope and cutting through her with ease. 

Penelope disappeared, and a smile slithered along Josie's darkened face. She snapped her fingers, and everyone but Hope fell to the ground. 

"Hope.." Josie sneered, walking through the bent bars

"How are you doing this?" Hope was bewildered at Josie's power. "Jo?"

Josie narrowed her eyes as she examined the room, looking just as confused. "Stay out of my way Hope." she finally responded, before snapping her fingers and disappearing. 

Penelope flickered back into the room, sweat lining her forehead. "I don't have much magic left Hope. But as long as you hold onto that object, she can't hurt you. Don't let it go"

Hope arched a brow, "What is this?"

Penelope sighed, "It holds something important inside it. I'll tell you more when I get there though."

"You're coming here?" 

Penelope nodded. "I have to. It's the only way" 

**Author's Note:**

> A work in progress, there will be more, I promise


End file.
